Cell Phone Fairy
A recorded message over the PA system pleasantly warned the audience: Please shut your cell phones off before the performance begins.
Yet it was inevitable in this age of the ubiquitous mobile (sorry, we were in Europe recently). Toward the end of Sandra Tsing Loh's Sunday night performance of "Sugar Plum Fairy" at the Geffen Playhouse, someone's cell rang out that now-familiar Nokia tone.
Luckily, the phone's owner put a quick stop to it. And Loh, on stage, didn't appear to notice.
"Sugar Plum Fairy," playing through Dec. 21, is classic Sandra Tsing Loh. The author/commentator, whose radio pieces were recently reassigned to an unfortunate early Sunday morning slot on KCRW, has created an industry out of recounting her unusual childhood growing up in the San Fernando Valley. This time out she focuses on her attempts at gaining her mom's acceptance and escaping the shadow of her older sister as she tries out, at age 12, for a part in The Nutcracker ballet.
While it's not Loh's strongest work -- surprisingly, her eccentric dad (normally a staple of her childhood recounts) is nowhere to be found -- the one-woman show is pleasant, poignant and well-done, and makes for a nice night out in Westwood. It was our first time out, believe it or not, at the Geffen Playhouse, an intimate setting (perfect for the show) and situated perfectly to grab some cheap cookies afterwards at Diddy Riese.
(Alas, we had already eaten too many baked goods this weekend, and opted to -- gasp!-- pass on the Diddy. We headed down to Noodle Planet and filled our bellys with curry, rice and eggplant.)
Update: Thanks to eagle-eye Pat, who reminds me that Loh grew up in Malibu, not the Valley... Her pieces are more about growing up in 1970s Southern California suburbia. Some of that does include time spent in the Valley, though, including a good chunk of "Sugar Plum Fairy," which takes us back to Loh's experience at the "Sheila Rosann School of Dance in Chatsworth, California." (Repeated often, to comedic effect.)
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